Garment conveyer



Sept. 21, 1948. A. J. PoHLERs 29449y659 GARMENT CONVEYER Filed June 22,1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 2l, 1,948.' A, 1 PQHLERS 2,449,669

GARMENT CONVEYER Filed June 22. 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 21,1.948

ill TED S TAT ES FF ICE GARMENT coNvEYER Alfred; J. Pohlers, J Joliet,Ill. Application June 22, 194e; serial No.. tratti (o1. rae-icm tClaims,

This invention relates to improvements inr con- Vey-ors,` and is moreparticularly concerned with `the provision or a conveyors'uitable forthe moven ment of garments within a dry cleaning establishment. In manydry cleaning establishments, a lower floor is employed? to receive andclean garments, while the upper floor or floors are used asstorage spacefor the garments after same have been cleaned. As many dry cleaningestablishments are not provided with elevator service, it has heretoforebeen necessary for the employees to carry garments from the lower licorto the upper floors. The present invention contemplates the provision 0ia relatively simple and inexpensive type of conveyor which may readilybe installed for use inr adry cleaning establishment for conveyinggarments from a lower floor to` upper floors.

This invention further contemplates 'the provision of a garmentc-onveyor adaptedy to be constructed and assembled at the factory asaecomplete unit ready for installation within a dry cleaningestablishment.

This invention further contemplates the provision of a garment conveyorembodying al supporting bar adapted to receieve the hook portion ofstandard wire garment hangers, and an endless chlain provided withpusher members to straddle said bar and move the garment hangers fromone end of the bar to the other end, the pusher elements being arrangedat spacedl intervals along the endless chain and having their frontfaces provided with shoulder means to prevent displacement of the wirehangers from the e supporting bar.

This invention embodies other novel features, details of constructionand arrangement of par-ts which are hereinafter set forth in thespecication and claims, and illustratedin the accom.- panying drawingswherein:

Fig; 1 is a plan view illustrating a garment con- Veyor embodyingfeatures of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of same.

Fig. '8- is a longitudinal sectional View, taken along the line 3 3ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line d-d of Fig.2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional View showingthe garment conveyor disposed in an inclined plane for moving garmenthangers from a lower floor to an upper iioor.

Referring now to the drawings for s, better understanding ofthisinvention, the garment conveyor isshown as comprising airame: Bihavinglongitudinally extending side members l' secured in spacedparlallelrelation by means oftransverse members 81. Mln order to forma relativelystrong, lightweight frame for the conveyor, the side members- 'l andtransverse members 3 are preferably formed of pipe or tubi-ng and weldedtogether at a. Sui-tabley mounting brackets 5t yare provided on theframe t for engagement with the floor or Wallsof abuilding.

A hanger supporting bar I Il is secured in spaced parallel alignmentVbelow the frame t' by means or supportingbrackets Il. it will be notedthat the supporting brackets l2 are all located along one side of theframe with their upper ends welded to the frame member 'l at I3 and withtheir-lower ends` welded tothe lower edge of the supporting bar-l l atF4; The'bar H is also rigidly supported` adjacent its lower end in abracket lli secured to the side' members 'I- by means ofset screws |11,

Anl endless chainA i8 is mounted' on the frame t between the sidemembersA 'lt upon a driving sprocket I9 :and a drivensprocliet 2l. Thedriving sprocket lll' is secured to a shaft 22 which isjournaledin-,bearings 273-23 provided on the side membens'l. The, drivensprocket 2! is secured t0 a shaft 24. which. `is journaled. in. bearings2li- 2li secured'to the side members l. At spaced intervals-along` the.conveyor chain bracket links 21' are provideelto receive pusher plates.263, The links 21j' are; provided with ears dwhich extend downwardlyandoutwardly from. opposite sides or the linlrsand` provided with.apertures SiI to receive cfapxsorfnvsz` 32 for threaded engagement intothe pusher: elements. 28.

Thepusher elements:2li` are slotted at 33 to provide. a.. pair ofjlarms'3d extending; downwardly along opposite sides or the supporting barl il.The front faceof eachi pusher. element liris also provided'-I with alforwardly projecting ushaped shoulder ''fto'prevent upward displament of`wire garment hangers tl from supporting bar il".`

l A; longitudinallyv extending guide plate IESI is weldedi orotlfrer-wisel secured. to the transverse members Blof theframe-Stoprevent upwardldisplacement off the pusher elements 2t' with respecttothesupporting bar Il during movement 3 upon the frame 6 by meansof threaded upright members i8 and adjustment nuts 49..

The garment conveyor is adapted to be installed within a dry cleaningestablishment with the frame 6 disposed in an inclined plane forconveying garments from a lower floor to an upper floor. Bracket -means50 may be provided for securing the ends of the frame 6 to .portions ofa building. In the operation of the conveyor, the garmen-ts to beconveyed from a lower floor to an upper floor are i'irst mounted uponwire hangers 37 after which the operator positions the hook portion 5lof the hangers upon the supporting`- bar H adjacent the loading positionindicated generally at 52. It will be noted that the supporting bar Ilis provided with a shoulder 53 on its upper edge to prevent downwardmovement of the hangers along the supporting bar. During movement of theendless chain, the pusher ele-v ments 23 are moved into operativeposition with the supporting bar H to engage the hook portions 5l of thehangers and to move same upwardly along the supporting bar. At the upperend of the conveyor, the supporting bar I l curves downwardly at 54 topermit the hangers and the garments supported thereon to move bygravity.

While this invention has been shown in but one for-m, it is obvious tothose skilled in the artthat it is not so limited but is susceptible ofvarious changes and modications without departing from the spirit andscope of the claimed invention.

I claim as my invention: n

1. In a portable garment conveyor adapted to be angularly positioned asa complete unit within a building for transferring garments mounted uponwire garment hangers from one floor level to an upper floor level, apair of side frame members arranged in spaced parallel relation,transverse frame members secured to said side frame members, a drivingshaft journaled on one end of said side frame members, a driven shaftjournaled on the other end of said side frame members, sprockets mountedon said driving and drivl en shafts and disposed between said side framemembers, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets, pusher membersmounted at spaced intervals along said chain, a supporting bar securedto one of said side frame members and disposed directly below said chainto receive the hook portion of wire garment hangers, said pusher membersbeing biflurcated at their outer ends to straddle said supporting bar, aguide plate secured to said transverse frame members in spaced parallelalignment, above said supporting bar to engage the lower flight of saidchain against upward movement relative to said supporting bar, anelectric motor supported on said side frame members, and a powertransmission means connecting said motor to said driving shaft.

2. In a portable garment conveyor adapted to be angularly positioned asa complete unit within a building for transferring garments mounted uponwire garment hangers from one floor level to an upper floor level, apair of side frame members arranged in spaced parallel relation,transverse frame members secured to said side frame members, a drivingshaft journaled on one end of said side frame members, a driven shaftjournaled on the other end of said side frame members, sprockets mountedon said driving and driven shafts and disposed between said side` frameimembers, an endless chain mounted on said 4 sprockets, pusher membersmounted at spaced intervals along said chain, a supporting bar securedto one of said side frame members and disposed directly below said chainto receive the hook portion of wire garment hangers, said pusher membersbeing bifurcated at their outer ends to straddle said supporting bar, aguide plate secured to said transverse frame members in spaced parallelalignment above said supporting bar to engage the lower flight of saidchain against upward movement relative to said supporting bar, anelectric motor supported on said side frame members, a powertransmission means connecting said motor to said driving.

shaft, each of said pusher members being recessed to provide a iiatfront face and an inverted U- shaped shoulder to receive and preventupward displacement of the hook portion of a garment hanger :from saidsupporting bar, the front face of each of said pusher members duringmovement upwardly along an inclined plane being disposed insubstantially a vertical plane.

3. In a portable garment conveyor adapted to be angularly positioned asa complete unit within a building for transferring garments mounted uponwire garment hangers from one oor level to an upper iioor level, a pairof side frame members arranged in spaced parallel relation, transverseframe members secured to said side frame members, a driving shaftjournaled on one end of said side frame members, a driven shaftjournaled on the other end of said side frame members, sprockets mountedon said driving and driven shafts and disposed between said side framemembers, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets, pusher membersmounted at spaced intervals along said chain, a supporting bar securedto one of said side frame members and disposed directly below said chainto receive the hook portion of wire garment hangers, said pusher membersbeing bifurcated at their outer ends to straddle said supporting bar, aguide plate secured to said transverse frame members in spaced parallelalignment above said supporting bar to engage the lower flight of saidchain against upward movement relative to said supporting bar, anelectric motor supported on said side frame members, a powertransmission means connecting sa'id motor to said driving shaft, each ofsaid pusher members being recessed to provide a iiat front falce and aninverted U-shaped shoulder to receive and prevent upward displacement ofthe hook .portion of a garment hanger from said supporting bar, thefront face of ea-ch of said pusher members during movement upwardlyalong an inclined plane being disposed in substantially a verticalplane, and stop means provided on said supporting bar to engage the hookportion of a garment hanger, said stop means being disposed adjacent thelower end of the upwardly moving flight of-gsaid: chain and Vin the pathof movement of the pusherimembers.

ALFRED J. PoHLERs.

manunissonsy CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberY Name Date 898,209 Foster Sept. 8, 19081,317,745 Watson et al Oct. 7, 1919 `2,318,180 Morse May 4, 1943

